Taking Fate's Place
by TheHunter747
Summary: When a cunning bit of treachery by Hades incapacitates Zeus just before the next Game of Fates is played, Hera calls upon Harry to take Zeus' place to protect everyone and everything he holds dear. But treachery is always just around the corner, especially when the God of the Underworld is playing...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is an idea that I had while eating. Not sure what that says about me, but oh well. I don't own the characters or the fandom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ZEUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing he noticed was the light. It was much, much brighter than in Gryffindor Tower. And there were oddly shaped columns of some kind of white stone surrounding him. Hearing footsteps, he swung round, ready to attack whoever it was if they were a danger. A woman, dressed in an oddly fashioned purple robe that seemed to glow, with red hair and green eyes, stood before him.

"Mum?"

Now in all fairness, Harry Potter had never met his mother. He had seen pictures, certainly, but he had never met her. And given the whole 'heavenly' feel to this place, he could be forgiven for thinking he had died and was being met by his mother at the gates of heaven. Unfortunately, while some of this was true, the woman before him was not Lily Potter.

"No, Harry. My name is Hera. I called you here because I need your help, and no one else could be trusted."

"Oh. Hera? Like the Greek goddess? And why do you need my help?"

"Yes, precisely. Hades, god of the Underworld, has challenged my husband, Zeus, to a Game. But after Zeus accepted, Hades pulled a dirty trick, and had his followers trap my husband in a nightmare that he will not awaken from before the Game starts." Even in the obviously rushed explanation, Harry could hear the capitalized letter at the start of the word 'game'.

"OK. So, you want me to break the curse? How do I do that? And what is this Game?"

"No Harry. I have tasked another of the minor gods with breaking the curse and freeing Zeus from his nightmare. What I want you to do is take my husband's place, and play the Game against Hades. To explain every nuance of the Game would take to much time, and I'm not sure mortals could even understand it, but it is essentially a chess match, except that every move you make will have an impact on the real world. To illustrate, in the last Game, which to your mind took place last year, Zeus lost a piece to Hades near the end of the Game. That piece represented Cedric Diggory. In your world, Cedric was killed by Voldemort. The two events happened simultaneously, Harry."

"You mean...every move I make could get my friends killed? No. No way. I refuse to put them in danger like that."

"No! Harry, please, understand, if you refuse to play the Game, no one can oppose Hades. Only you and Zeus have the power necessary to take him on and even hope to win. The last Game was won, but the victory was a costly one, and if you don't play, Hades wins by default. The only way your friends and family have a chance is if you play. Please, Harry, I beg of you, play this Game, even if only till Zeus awakens once more. Please?"

So it was either play against Hades, Lord of the Dead and God of the Underworld, and risk his friends lives, or refuse to play and doom them all anyway. Hera was clearly desperate, and wanted - no, needed - Harry to play. Hermione always did say he had a 'saving-people thing', he thought with a sigh.

"Alright, I'll do it. How do I play? Is someone going to teach me?"

The relief Hera felt was palpable. "No, Harry, I'm sorry. The Game starts immediately. It's a miracle in and of itself that I managed to delay the start this long. Follow me."

The goddess turned and swept through long corridors, all made of the same material - marble, Harry now realised, eventually coming to a huge hallway, filled with people - the rest of the Greek Pantheon, Harry realized, all whispering as soon as they saw him. Of course, thanks to Umbridge and Fudge's smear campaign, Harry was able to ignore them, and simply followed Hera to a large circular table.

Halting, Hera nudged him over to a blue square with the symbol of Zeus - a lightning bolt, ironically - telling him to wait there, and that a chair would be brought over for him once Hades arrived. In a corner, three women stood, decrepit and ancient. They only had one eye between them, and a pair of scissors were held in the hands of the tallest one. With a start, Harry recognized them from his History lessons in primary school - the Fates, the women who cut the threads of life when a person died.

The doors at the back of the hall were flung open, and a man - if he could be called such - walked in. The man's skin and clothes were gray, but it was his hair that caught Harry's eye - it was made of bright blue flames. In fact, Harry thought the Greek gods and goddesses all looked similar to the way they looked in the Disney movie Hercules that Hermione had recommended to him.

"So, Hera, you actually found someone to play on your behalf?" Turning to Harry, Hades spoke again. "Well, may the best player win, hmm. Not that I intend to lose, of course." Harry decided that the movie had got Hades character perfect. The man had an oily voice, like a sleazy used car salesman, a charming smirk, and could probably convince Hermione that she was a boy. How was he supposed to beat this guy in a game of chess? He couldn't beat Hermione at chess, and for all her logic, Hermione was the second-worst chess player at Hogwarts, only just avoiding last place by beating him. Hades could probably convince Harry to join Voldemort, just by talking him into it.

Offering only a shaky nod in response, Harry wondered if Hera knew how truly atrocious a chess player he was. Two chairs appeared, Harry and Hades took their places, and the Game began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HADES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A/N: Just a rabid plot bunny that bit me, though if there is interest, this may become a serious story. But hey, there is no story not worth hearing, right? That is my belief as a writer. As always, review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, so a few people have followed this story. Someone actually favourited it! (Is 'favourited' even a word? Hmm...) Anyway, I thank you all, and hope you enjoy the next chapter - because after all, we authors write for our readers, not ourselves. As you should be aware of, I don't own the characters, be they from Harry Potter or Disney. Hmm, bringing in other Disney heroes to help out? Might see if that goes anywhere. On with the story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ZEUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The God of the Dead smirked across the table, and Harry squirmed nervously, before noticing the decidedly odd shape of said table. The reason became apparent, as the table top became a map of the globe, focusing until it showed Britain exclusively. Little figurines popped up all over the board, occasionally moving about. It took Harry a moment to realize that the figures on the map were actual people, and the map was the game board.

"Uh, Hera? This seems more like a game of Risk from the Muggle world than chess."

Hera seemed flustered for a moment, before acknowledging the statement.

"Oh dear. Well, in my defense, it's been a while since I played mortal games, Harry."

Nodding at the logic, Harry turned round, only to see Hades move a piece on the board.

"Hey! I was supposed to start the Game, Hades!"

"And you did, little guy. You spoke to an Olympian besides myself or yourself. That counts as a turn, so I got to make my move. Capishe?"

Shocked at the unfairness of Hades' little trick, Harry was halfway to opening his mouth to ask Hera if Hades could actually do that, before sense caught up to him. 'No. If I ask Hera anything, Hades will say I used my turn, and move another piece without anything stopping him. Gotta play smart. Come on Harry, think. Hermione told me I was brilliant, and I have the powers of a god now. Surely I can think of something.'

Looking at the board, Harry noticed that Hades had used his turn to place a new restriction on the students at Hogwarts. Apparently, moves in the Game were made by implanting ideas in the minds of mortals and making them act on it. Most pieces could be manipulated by either player, except obvious pieces - Dumbledore for Harry, Voldemort for Hades, but besides that, there didn't seem to be limits. An idea occured to Harry when he noticed a discarded piece by the side of the board - in the shape of Cedric Diggory.

Cedric had been a powerful wizard, Harry knew that. To be chosen above all others in Hogwarts implied that he had what it took to win the Triwizard Tournament. If Harry had the powers of a god, what was a little manipulation of Fate and Death in his favour? But how? 'Sirius would know, I bet.' The thought sprang to mind, and with it, a slew of memories - freeing Buckbeak, freeing Sirius, casting a corporeal Patronus, knowing he had saved innocent lives, and finally, the little device that made it possible, the Time-Turner. And the beginnings of a plan formed in his mind. He had supressed it all these years, but now, the cunning the Sorting Hat once saw in him reared it's head and howled.

Tapping the image of Hermione, Harry implanted the idea in her mind. If anyone could get people to listen, it was Hermione Jean Granger. Harry only prayed he hadn't just wasted a turn. He and Hades sat back and watched as the consequences of their respective moves played out before them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HADES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione Granger was not having a good day. That loathsome toad, Umbridge, had passed a new Educational Decree, granting her the title of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor'. Which basically gave her the power to fire any teacher she didn't agree with. Hermione only hoped Professor McGonagall wasn't fired. Life was bad enough for the Gryffindors right now, and that was with the Professor there. And to make matters worse, Harry had slipped into a coma, and Madam Pomphrey wasn't sure how to bring him out of it. According to the nurse, his mind and body were fine. His mind just...wasn't there anymore. Which, of course, had led to a slew of mean jokes from Draco Malfoy about 'that brainless Potter'.

She was beginning to wish she had hit him harder in third year. When she told that to Ron, the redhead simply snorted and said, "Only beginning?" Which of course had the Gryffindors laughing for hours. And if it was slightly hysterical laughter? Nobody mentioned it. They had to take what little joy they could find these days, it seemed. It had been like that ever since Cedric had died. It was horrible of her, and she knew it, but Hermione couldn't help hating Cedric a little for dying. And every time she felt this way, she would hate herself a little more, too. She hadn't told anyone. Who could she tell?

Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon. Her roommates weren't much better. Harry was unconscious/brain-dead. Professor McGonagall was too stressed as it was. And Professor Dumbledore...Of course! She chided herself. Professor Dumbledore could help her. He was the Headmaster, that was his job, right? Nodding to herself, she turned and made her way to Dumbledore's office, giving the password - "Mars Bars" - to the gargoyle, and ascending the stairs. Just as she was about to knock on the door, a voice rang out.

"Do come in, Miss Granger."

Opening the door, a rather bemused Hermione walked in. "How do you do that, sir?"

"I do beg your pardon, but I'm a trifle deaf in this ear today, do please speak up." Pointing at his left ear - which was actually the furthest ear from Hermione - and twinkling at her, Dumbledore immediately set her mind at ease. Sinking rather ungracefully into a chair, she began laying out everything that had been worrying her over the past few months, ending on a slightly hysterical note.

"And I can't help but think that maybe if we were careful to make it all look the same, we could find a way to save Cedric!"

Throughout her entire tale/rant, Albus Dumbledore had sat patiently. He had known this would be coming sooner or later - Miss Granger was strong, but even the best people in the world weren't that strong. Everyone had a breaking point, and when they reached it they would either break into a thousand infinitely tiny pieces, or snap, rage at the world and whoever happened to cross their path at that time, before recovering and moving forward. Albus had no doubt that the Golden Trio, as even the staff called them, were of the sort that would bend to prove they wouldn't break, who would take every blow the unfair world rained upon them, before standing up and retaliating. They were just those sort of people. Heroes, even if they didn't realise it yet.

Standing up and rounding the table, Albus gathered the distraught young witch into his arms, at which she simply threw herself at him and sobbed gently into his robes. He didn't say anything, simply holding her there, letting her take whatever small comfort he could offer her while she composed herself. He had seen many young witches and wizards break down like this, and had done his best to help them through their troubles. He was a teacher, and if he could help his students, then he would. He had offered this same comfort to Miss Chang, who had very nearly - but no, best not to dwell on such things. He had reached her in time, and that was all that mattered. And she was recovering now. It was not going to be easy, but Cho Chang was just another person like Miss Granger.

But something Miss Granger had said had piqued his interest. 'if we were careful to make it all look the same,' implied that she was thinking of using a Time-Turner. Running the scenario through his mind, he had to admit that if it was done very carefully, it could be done, without creating any paradoxes. Let the world believe Cedric was dead so Miss Granger would have the idea, prompting Albus to go back in time. A perfect closed loop.

Half an hour later, Hermione Granger left the Headmaster's office, her doubts banished by the kindly presence of the man who was like a grandfather to all the students. Albus Dumbledore was scribbling advanced Arithmantic calculations on bits of parchment, with an uncommon fervor. And the first move in the Game had been made.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HARRY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A/N: So, there you go. I figured I would show the effects of the moves they make in the second half of each chapter. Plus, with Harry out of the picture temporarily, it allows me to write interactions between the other characters - Dumbledore especially. I love him half the time, and hate him the rest. But in this story, he's the kindly old grandfather that J.K. Rowling intended him to be. And yes, I did make Cho Chang nearly commit suicide. From what we see of her character, I think this is a perfectly believeable plotline. She cried over the mere mention of Cedric's name and was an emotional wreck six months after he died. Half a year, and she was still reeling from his death. So I think that even in canon, Cho Chang could believeably have attempted to commit suicide after Cedric's death. Figured I'd explain that.


End file.
